On Specialness: A Study On The Anglo-American Relationship In Foreign Policy And Security

In foreign policy and security, the Anglo-American ties are usually referred to asthe special relationship. In an effort to explain the "specialness", the author carries outdiscussion on its existence, connotation, causes and ineffectiveness. Therefore, thethesis presents a review of the background and the evolvement of the specialrelationship, a summarization of its marked features by a case study of the US-UKcounterterrorist collaboration, an analysis of the underlying factors and their interplay,and finally an assessment of its influence and limitations.The author argues that the Anglo-American special relationship still keeps itsmomentum despite drastic changes of the world since the end of the Cold War. Theunusual affinity between the two countries exists in a wide range of areas frommilitary and intelligence cooperation to diplomatic support, which embodies suchqualities as asymmetry, reliability and transparency, and a high degree of coordination.Such a special relationship is a product of natural attractiveness, common threat andconvergence of national interests and is affected by the disparity of power betweenthe two countries. The interplay of these factors can be tentatively represented in aformulaic form:Specialness = Interests Convergence·(Natural Attractiveness + Common Threat)PowerThe Anglo-American special relationship does bring about mutual advantages tothe two countries involved, but at present it is not effective especially when it comesto a major player—the UK. The ineffectiveness has been three-fold: the UK influenceon US policies is marginal;its bridge role has become harder to play;and it even runsrisks in pursuing the special relationship. Therefore, the author suggests that the UKshould balance its self-interests with the interests of all so that it becomes less swayedby the special relationship but rather engages the US in progressive causes for theinternational community in real terms.